Weekly summary - 138th week

Recently, my post has been more to female hair loss. I must admit, as a man, I do not know much of female hair loss well enough. Female hair loss is considered more complicated as the hair thinning process is not concentrated in certain spot. Male pattern baldness normally start on hair thinning in vertex and frontal.
I would said, male pattern baldness battle is easier than female hair loss battle. WHY? Female pattern hair loss  only can use Rogaine or minoxidil 2 %. Male can use minoxidil 5% and Propecia or Proscar. I always stress if a man want to choose minoxidil and propecia, choose propecia as it control DHT that result of male pattern hair loss.
Last week, a reader, Khairul said he split Proscar into 5 pieces. If you are reading this, please teach me splits the little Proscar into 5 pieces. I am currently split into 4 pieces. It is better to consume 1mg rather than 1.25mg right?
For those who purchase minoxidil online, grab the chance hen Ringgit is appreciate against US dollar. It si much cheaper now.

Weekly summary - 137th week -- effectiveness of minoxidil 2%

 Minoxidil 2% is for women as minoxidil 5% is normally for Men only. Of course, Men also can use minoxidil 2%. While I know many of us has used minoxidil 5% before or currently, seldom women actually try minoxidil. Here, I post some clinical results and side effects for woman's minoxidil 2%.

Clinical trials of Minoxidil for the treatment of female pattern hair loss

2% percent topical Minoxidil is the only currently FDA-approved agent for female pattern hair loss, having shown efficacy over placebo in many trials.

• In a well-designed 32-week study, investigator global assessment determined that the application of 2% Minoxidil twice-daily stimulated mild to moderate re-growth in 63% of 157 women compared with 39% of 151 women treated with vehicle.
• In a 32-week trial of 256 women aged 15 to 45 years with Ludwig I or II alopecia, non-vellus hair counts on the top of the scalp showed a mean increase of 14 percent over baseline for those on 2% topical Minoxidil as compared with 7.3 percent for those on placebo.
• Similarly, a 32-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in 10 European centers to assess the efficacy and safety of 2% topical Minoxidil solution for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia in women. The results showed that in the 2% Minoxidil group, the mean increase in non-vellus hair count was 33 hairs, which was significantly greater than that of 19 hairs in the placebo group. New growth was seen by investigators in 44 percent of those treated with topical Minoxidil vs. 29 percent of those on placebo, leading to the conclusion that topical Minoxidil solution was significantly more effective than placebo in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia in women.

The outcome may not be as positive in those individuals with underlying hyperandrogenism. The increase in effectiveness of the 5% solution was not evident for women in FDA-controlled studies. In a 48-week, well-designed study on the comparative efficacy of 5% versus 2% topical Minoxidil in the treatment of mild to moderate female pattern hair loss, no significant difference in scalp coverage could be appreciated by investigator global assessment. However, patient satisfaction was appreciably greater with use of the higher concentration. Subsequent studies have shown at best a modest benefit from using the higher concentration in women, and its use should only be considered in those who show minimal response to the 2% formulation.
In the evaluation of female pattern hair loss using hair counts as a primary endpoint, studies have shown a mean increase in hair growth of 15–33% in the Minoxidil-treated groups compared with 9–14% in the vehicle control groups. One small study using hair weight as the endpoint found an increase of 42.5% in hair weights in the Minoxidil group compared to 1.9% in the controls. In the investigator and subject assessments, Minoxidil was superior to the vehicle but about 40% of subjects appeared not to respond to Minoxidil. None of these trials were extended beyond 32 weeks and the long-term results of Minoxidil treatment are uncertain. In men the beneficial effects on hair growth are lost rapidly on cessation of treatment and it is most likely that the same holds true in the case of women as well.

Clinical use in female pattern hair loss

One milliliter (25 drops) of Minoxidil solution must be used twice daily, in order to be effective. The drops must be applied directly onto a dry scalp and then slightly spread with the fingers. No more than 2 ml should be applied every day, regardless of the extent of the affected area. The best way for application is to make 5 partings in the hair and to put 5 drops in each part.

Side effects of Minoxidil treatment in female pattern hair loss

Minoxidil is poorly absorbed after topical application on normal intact skin, and only 0.3 to 4.5% reaches the systemic circulation. The percentage of Minoxidil that is absorbed is eliminated within 4 days. The effects on absorption of concomitant occlusion and the systemic metabolic biotransformation of topically applied Minoxidil are mostly unknown.
The most common Minoxidil side effects are simple contact dermatitis (scalp irritation, dryness, itching, scaling, and redness). 3 to 5% of women of women using Minoxidil develop hypertrichosis, a side effect of Minoxidil that is usually not perceived as a problem in men.
It is not clear yet why the hypertrichosis occurs but it is possibly through either a systemic effect or via a transfer of the drug, there is unwanted growth of hair affecting mostly the forehead, malar areas, and sides of the face. Hypertrichosis may diminish with continued treatment over the course of a year, and resolves completely within a few months once treatment is stopped. Pre-existing facial hair, higher dosing, and age older than 50 years are predisposing factors for hypertrichosis. Care also should be taken to avoid manual or fomites (e.g., pillows) spread of Minoxidil to sites other than the scalp, although the effect is largely believed to result from local absorption.
Studies have never shown any change in blood pressure or any other systemic effect, but Minoxidil solution should be used with caution in patients with cardiovascular disease.
Minoxidil should not be used in pregnant or nursing women. There is no evidence of teratogenicity in rats and rabbits, but Minoxidil has been found to be secreted in breast milk

You judge yourself whether You want to try Minoxidil 2%, but I would said it should be a safe bet.

Weekly summary - 135th week -- Women shall get more sympathy than men...

My prediction is most of the women in Malaysia do not know what is minoxidil and do not know the difference of minoxidil 2% and 5%. Of course, just a minority of women really use and understand the usage and function of minoxidil 2%.

We know women can not take Propecia as it is a medicine that will control male body hormone (DHT). Thus, the only way for hair loss treatment for women is only minoxidil 2%.

Minoxidil 2% for women is different with minoxidil 5% for male. Lower concentration for women does not mean it is lower effective than minoxidil 5%. According to the result from western countries women, quite a lot of women using minoxidil 2% and get a positive result. I do not think many Asian actually know its existence and used it. Nevertheless, it should be a much better option than visit hair care center than bring you no where. The power of advertisement has let many people think Yun Nam really can help them but the fact is, NO. Hair care center only acre of earning money of your every treatment. The truth is they hope you will never stop their treatment package. So, how can you ever been gaining your hair back if their business objective is to squeeze every rinngit form their customer.

For men, even we are more likely to suffer hair loss than women, we still have Propecia which is more effective than minoxidil in my opinion. Even the minoxidil we buy online also cheaper. Besides, a bald man is easier to be accept than a bald women right? It is truth and we know woman likely to feel pressure when they face hair loss.

I will try to post my hair photo in a few weeks to see the progress after the current regime of Porpecia and minoxidil 5%. I also bought Bawang shampoo which is RM 43.90 for 1 liter. It is a good bargain since a 400ml will cost you RM 26.90. Personally I think the shampoo is quite gentle and as long as I feel good, I will continue to use it. I know, Propecia and minoxidil play a much larger part in halting hair loss.

Weekly summary - 133th week -- Women Minoxidil 2%

I know that there are quite a lot of female readers for this blog. Most of my topic is regarding male pattern hair loss. What bring these women here must be searching Yun Nam haircare and discovered it is a scam.
I have put two links from amazon in my blog which is related to women Rogaine or minoxidil. Surprisingly the women's minoxidil 2% for hair loss is that that expensive at all if you purchase online. It is below USD 10 per month for Equate women minoxidil 2% and slightly above USD 10 for the original Rogaine women. Although I do not really survey the malaysia retail price in the pharmacies, I expected the price will be slightly higher than men minoxidil which is very likely above RM 150 per bottle or one month supply.

I would encourage all women that face hair loss to try it as the price is not that expensive. I would said, it may be much better if you want to try your luck at Yun Nam or Beijing 101. You just google Yun Nam scam or Beijing 101 scam, you know the stories how people get conned.

I have mentioned before that I am looking a generic minoxidil beside Kirkland as I have one complaint of this product, it create "dandruff" as the liquid dry on my hair. Rogaine is too expensive and I may want to try other brand. I came across Equate which is famous for women minoxidil.

For your information, Equate and Kirkland both are generic minoxidil in US that is the same price range. The wired thing is the price of Equate minoxidil is double the price of Kirkland online. You can check the price on Ebay or Amazon. Most of the seller prefer to sell Kirkland. I do not know the reason.
Anyway, my super busy April and May has started.